Bristol Myers Squibb accused of buying off competitors to delay development of generic cancer drugs

NEWARK, N.J. (CN) — A Medicaid services provider claims Bristol Myers Squibb conspired to exclude would-be pharmaceutical competition for the blockbuster cancer drugs lenalidomide and its Revlimid generic equivalent, reaping millions in unlawfully overpriced drug sales from the monopoly.

“Having made a laughingstock out of the distribution of lenalidomide in the United States, Celgene and Bristol Meyers Squibb are simply reaping the rewards from their successful market allocation,” Centene Corporation wrote in its 235-page complaint.

Centene accuses Bristol Myers Squibb of unlawfully profiting from overcharges paid by healthcare providers, which made purchases of or reimbursements for Revlimid or its AB-rated generic equivalents at higher prices for brand and generic Revlimid than it would have paid but for the anticompetitive conspiracy.

According to Centene, “Bristol Myers Squibb reported U.S. revenues from Revlimid of $5.2 billion for 2023 and $2.6 billion for the first half of 2024, then in July 2024 raised prices for Revlimid by 7%, ultimately earning $4.999 billion for 2024.”

The St. Louis-headquartered Centene claims that it will likely be overcharged by hundreds of millions of dollars in artificially inflated drug prices because of the restrained generic drug market.

Filed in New Jersey federal court Thursday, Centene brings claims of Sherman Act antitrust violations, in addition to violations of local laws in 25 states and the District of Columbia.

Centene is represented in the complaint by White Plains, New York-based firm Lowey Dannenberg PC; class action firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP; and mass tort specialists Rawlings & Associates PLLC.

Representatives for Bristol Myers Squibb did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

The complaint adds as co-defendants some of the generic manufacturers and their successor companies: AbbVie Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Natco Pharma Limited, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd.

Those companies are accused of agreeing to receive patent settlement payments from Bristol Myers Squibb and Celgene in exchange for an agreement to delay competition from Natco’s AB-rated generic Revlimid until January 31, 2026, and to allocate the market for branded and AB-rated generic Revlimid.

Centene noted in its complaint that in 2024, the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists declared a formal shortage of generic lenalidomide due to volume restrictions as part of the patent settlements between generic companies and Celgene, and that drug shortage has led to disruptions to supply, limited access, and inconsistent treatment.

Lenalidomide was developed as an analog of thalidomide. Originally marketed to ease morning sickness in pregnant women, thalidomide was pulled from the shelves in the 1960s for its association with fetal deformities and birth defects. The drug killed roughly 2,000 children and left more than 10,000 others with serious defects, such as limbs that presented as stumps.

Billy Joel listed “children of thalidomide” in his 1989 hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire” among the unfortunate headlines of his lifetime, mentioning the drug in between references to 1950s spree killer Charles Starkweather and singer Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash in 1959.

The drug was reborn as a cancer treatment after later studies found lenalidomide to be particularly effective for patients of multiple myeloma, a kind of bone marrow plasma cancer.

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